An early loss at a Grand Slam can never be easy on a top seed. It is especially tough when you didn’t have a bad day but fought it out with all you have.
But what need not be as hard is how you react to defeat. Title favourite Petra Kvitova attributed her early loss to nerves, sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov said Stan Wawrinka fought harder and deserved to win more than him.
Big upsets are not uncommon in sport, especially in an individual game like tennis, and the last three days have been a good example of that. It’s been only three days at Wimbledon 2018, and seeds have fallen like dominoes with five of the top eight women’s seeds already out; the most losses by the Top 5 women at any Wimbledon in the Open Era before the third round.
The latest to join this list was second seed Caroline Wozniacki, who went down 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to world no 35 Ekaterina Makarova in the second round.
The match lasted over two hours, saw the loser win more points (91 to 94) and both players trade the same number of breaks. But what set her loss apart – more than the gritty slugfest of a match – was Wozniacki’s unsporting response.
“I think she played above her level and really raised it and got a little lucky and played well when she needed to. I don’t know that she would be able to keep up this level for the rest of the tournament.”
Odd choice of words from someone who has had her fair share of tough losses and big triumphs.
But here’s the real kicker: Wozniacki has never crossed the Last 16 at Wimbledon in 12 visits to the All England Club, Makarova, with 12 Top-10 wins at Majors, has reached the quarter-final in singles and is the reigning women’s doubles champion with Elina Vesnina.
In fact, Wozniacki had lost to the 30-year-old in the second round of the US Open last year, her first loss against the Russian in eight meetings. And even discounting frustration after a hard loss on Wednesday, it was a misplaced jibe.
On her part, the Russian, playing in her 44th consecutive Slam, was ice cool: “I don’t know what to say. Yeah, maybe I was lucky today. Good for me. Thank God!
A topsy-turvy match
The world No 2 from Denmark was never considered a favourite given her history at Wimbledon. But she was coming off a title run on grass at Eastbourne last week and looked set to progress to the quarters at the only Major she hadn’t so far,, starting with a 6-0, 6-3 first-round win over Varvara Lepchenko.
Even on Wednesday, she looked good to earn what would have been a splendid win. But by the end, it looked like she was up against a wall she almost crossed, but couldn’t as she couldn’t find the final toehold.
Makarova was faster off the blocks going 5-1 up with her power-packed game before the second seed began her fight back winning three games in a row. Despite losing the first set, the Dane had found her feet and looked set to see this off in three.
But the drama had already begun, with a flying ant infestation incensing Wozniacki. “I want to focus on playing tennis and not eating bugs,” she told the chair umpire between sets.
Still troubled by the bugs, she almost served up a bagel with a 5-0 lead winning the second 6-1 to force a decider. The Australian Open champion was in the driver’s seat, it was her match to lose.
And then began the real swarm. The ants, it would turn out, would not be her biggest problem. That would be Makarova’s incredible resilience. The Russian displayed her grit, climbing out of holes with remarkable agility and keeping calm despite almost choking in face of an all-guns-blazing Wozniacki.
The world No 2 stared down the barrel at 1-5 in the decider. But it was no cause to panic. At the Australian Open this year, she had survived the same score against Jana Fett, saving four match points. The Dane had gone on lift the trophy.
At Wimbledon as well, she fought back from 1-5 to 5-5. Twice Makarova had failed to serve out the match, twice Wozniacki clawed back up, helped by the initial nerves from the Russian who even double-faulted on one of the four match points.
It could have gone either way then, but maybe the Russian wanted it a little bit more, while the second seed got a little more comfortable after staving off the biggest threat. She had to hold serve now and force more errors, instead it was Makarova who fittingly sealed her win with a break of serve rather than a hold.
The Russian is a veteran on tour with a highest ranking of 8 and has reached the last eight before. Then, she was beaten by Lucie Safarova, who she is drawn to meet next. Incidentally, Safarova dumped a seed herself, beating former finalist Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-4.
With the unpredictable nature of the tournament, she might not end up going any further – as her opponent predicted – or end up in the second week fairly easy with her positive momentum. But no matter the end, one thing is certain: Makarova was not “lucky” to win, she earned it with better tennis, physically and mentally.
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